Chandigarh, June 27
The orders of the UT Administrator, directing the Municipal Corporation to run the House and take decisions on all vital agenda items pertaining to the development of the city, had the desired effect only in the last meeting held on June 21. Today again the councillors reverted to their old ways of disrupting the House proceedings. The meeting held again in line with the directive was marked by chaos, uproar, walkouts and dharna and had to be finally adjourned indefinitely by the Mayor, Mr Raj Kumar Goyal, without transacting any business.

Congress party president, Mr B.B Bahl, said he would shortly call a party meeting to discuss the behaviour of the party councillors in todays MC meeting and the action that could be taken against them would also be decided. He said it was hard to find a better and more honest Mayor than Mr Goyal. The party was with the Mayor and there was no question of tendering a resignation on the basis of the demand put forth by the BJP. The Mayor had major development plans for the city, but the BJP was not letting him function.

In an unprecedented move, all the ruling party councillors present in the House unitedly stood against the Mayor and demanded his resignation. They staged a walkout and later sat on a dharna in front of his office to protest against his refusal to meet the councillors. The only difference was that till now the determined BJP-SAD opposition was always held responsible for stalling the proceedings of the House, but today it was the ruling Congress councillors who were blamed for not letting the House function under its own party’s Mayor.

The immediate issue of resentment was that the Mayor had refused to see a councillor in his office. Heated arguments were going on in the House between the Congress Mayor and the BJP councillors on the issue of recording of the minutes of the previous meeting, when a Congress councillor, Ms Suneeta Krishan Lal, who normally stays quiet, stood up and disclosed that on Monday, when she along with another Congress councillor, Ms Kamlesh Banarsi Dass, went to discuss with the Mayor the problem of flooding in their respective wards on Monday, they were stopped by the peon, who asked them to get a slip from the PA before going in. They went back without meeting him.

This led to an immediate uproar and shouts from BJP councillors. Supporting her, the Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, and Congress councillor, Ms Satinder Dhawan, asked the Mayor to explain
the same. The BJP en block along with the Deputy Mayor, Mr Mohinder Singh, supported the Congress.

The Mayor did make an attempt to offer some explanation on this issue, but due to an uproar his voice could not be heard. Amidts this, three Congress councillors led by Mr Kala staged a walkout. The BJP councillors also walked out in their support, but the Mayor adjourned the House for a tea- break.

Soon after, during the tea-break, they jointly staged a dharna outside the Mayor’s office to demand his resignation. They shouted anti-Mayor slogans and kept up a chant against Mr Goyal.

Talking to the media, BJP councillor and spokesperson, Ms Ranjana Shahi, said it was a clear-cut case of no-confidence against the Mayor as all the elected councillors, including those of the ruling party, were against him. She further said it was only three days back that she and the Mayor had, while addressing a press conference, challenged the BJP to bring a no-confidence motion against him if they wanted to remove him.

The leader of the opposition in the House, Mr Des Raj Tandon, said they were supporting the Congress councillors. It had become a question of the honour and dignity of the councillors, particularly the woman councillors, he added.

The Mayor, while talking to the media in his office, said all allegations were baseless as he had never stopped any councillor from entering his office. The party councillors had openly revolted against their own party. He had issued clear guidelines that the councillors and MC officials were not be stopped from meeting him, but the public should procure a slip before seeing him. He clarified that on Monday, it was Ms Suneeta’s husband, Mr Krishan Lal, and Ms Kamlesh’s husband, Mr Banarsi Dass, who had come to see him and the peon has asked them to send in a slip. His peons, who were called in, corroborated the same.

The Mayor disclosed that the matter was resolved the same evening, when the two brought the matter to the notice of the party president, Mr B.B Bahl. He wondered why the issue was raked up afresh by Ms Suneeta in the House and Ms Kamlesh did not turn up in the House.

After this unprecedented move, the minority Mayor had lost the confidence of his own party councillors along with the other elected councillors. Whether he could now conduct the meeting of the House or not was a question in itself. Political experts were of the view that the position of the Mayor was so critical that he had no option but to resign. It was also to be seen what action was taken against the rebel councillors by the local leadership as in the past they had been nothing more than mute witnesses.

Earlier, all the four Congress councillors had absented themselves from the meeting of the House without informing the Mayor and the party had not taken any action. Recently, Ms Kamlesh had also staged a dharna in the well of the House againt the Mayor in the presence of the local MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal.

As soon as the House met this morning for transacting business on the pending agenda items, Mr Des Raj Tandon got up in his seat and asked the Mayor to clarify his position on serious allegations and raised objections on the recordings of previous meetings. A BJP councillor, Mr Raghubir Lal Arora, who supported him, pointed out the improper recording of the minutes of the previous meeting held on June 8.

Out of the 17 members present in the House, 10 stood up in favour of a resolution seeking judicial inquiry against the Mayor and the seven others kept sitting. The latter did find mention in the minutes, but the other fact that they had sought voting on the said issue had not been mentioned. Mr Arora moved to the well of the House and demanded that the minutes of the meeting should be recorded verbatum and then brought for confirmation.

A former mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, raised the issue of the Mayor lowering the dignity of the House by getting embroiled in one controversy after the other. He pointed out the recent one, in which the Mayor had misused his official position and civic machinery to help his brother, Mr Shiv Kumar Goyal, in removing malba from his House. He too asked the Mayor to clarify his stand.

A Congress councillor, Ms Satinder Dhawan, intervened and said the House should first take up the other development items listed on the agenda and that the item pertaining to the Mayor’s allegations could be taken up later. BJP councillors, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, Mr Des raj Tandon and Ms Rajnana Shahi, asked her to clarify her stand, whether she would also demand his resignation along with her husband, Mr Harmohan Dhawan, or was she supporting him. She said she would support him in the smooth conduct of the House, but would not shield him regarding his corruption charges. When the House was adjourned, only five nominated councillors were present in the House and the quorum was incomplete as per the Act provisions.

The BJP councillors were an elated lot. They kept repeating that till now they were being blamed for stalling the proceedings of the House, but today the Mayor’s party had turned against him.

Barwala (Panchkula), June 27
Seven persons of a family, including two women, were injured, three of them seriously, when a fellow villager, accompanied by 35 armed persons, fired upon them in Bharelie village, located on the Barwala-Lalru link road about 3 km from here, this morning.

The three seriously injured, including a woman, were admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh in a critical condition. The cause of the clash is said to be a long-standing land dispute between the two groups.

The incident took place at about 8:30 am when Harjinder Singh, accompanied by Manbir Singh and armed members of the group, allegedly fired upon the family members of Mr Preetam Chand, who were working in the fields. After the firing incident, there was a clash among the members of both groups.

Those who sustained bullet injuries include Gurdev Singh, Amar Singh, Nirmala Devi, Sunita Devi, Naresh, Atma Ram and Budh Ram. They were rushed to the General Hospital in Sector 6. The seriously injured, Gurdev Singh, Amar Singh and Nirmala Devi, were referred to the PGI in Chandigarh.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the armed persons came in a tractor-trailer, while firing in the air. After raising slogans, they ran over 50 yards and overpowered the members of the family. The scared family members gathered under the roof of a tubewell-hut in the fields.

Villagers
said Harjinder Singh and his group, carrying double barrel-guns, sickles and lathis, attacked the victims when Preetam Chand and his family were just about to start work in the fields. The clash continued for over 30 minutes, after which the armed persons fled.

On hearing the shots, other farmers working in the surrounding fields stopped work and watched in fear. They alleged violent armed persons fired upon Budh Singh, who tried to flee from the field.

Avtar Kumar, a son of Preetam Chand, said they had started sowing maize on five acres after the Supreme Court had decided the case in their favour. He said Manbir Singh, a resident of Burail village in Chandigarh, Continued on
who used to claim his right on the disputed land, had given it to Harjit Singh for cultivation on contract basis.

‘‘Following the court’s decision, we ploughed the fields yesterday and were to sow maize seed today. We had hardly started work as Harjinder Singh, accompanied by Manbir Singh, Manjit Singh, Bhag Singh, Nirmal Singh, Surmukh Singh, Jarnail Singh, Karam Singh and others attacked them. They first fired bullets shots upon them and then used sharp-edged weapons’’, said Mr Avtar.

A visit by the Chandigarh Tribune team to the site of incident revealed that blood was splattered on the ground. The food, utensils and other eatables were scattered all over the scene. Villagers were tight- lipped and refused to comment on the issue.

Following the incident, panic and tension gripped the village. The SP, said a case under Sections 148, 149, 307,447,323, and 506 of the IPC and Section 25 of Arms Act had been registered against Harjinder Singh, Manbir Singh, Manjit Singh, Bhag Singh, Nirmal Singh, Surmukh Singh, Jarnail Singh Karam Singh and many others involved in the incident. He added that the police of neighbouring states had been alerted and the accused would be arrested soon.

Chandigarh, June 27
Government land is being used by certain persons in Dadu Majra Colony — located near Sector 38 — to first build shops and claim ownership of the land and then to rent the shops. All this is carrying on right under the nose of the Chandigarh Administration.

When this correspondent approached owner of House No. 1006 in the colony posing as a prospective tenant looking for a shop. The owner, Mr Som Nath, who had built up five shops allegedly on government land agreed to rent a shop for Rs 4,000 a month. The correspondent was asked the deposit three months’ rent as security and advance.

When asked that the shop is unauthorised and has been built upon government land, he claimed that all shops in the area had been built upon encroached land. He said, “You can set up your shop here without any fear as no government official is ever going to bother you.”

The encroachments in the area have been going on for the past several years. A resident of the area disclosed that lack of enforcement on part of the Administration to check the unauthorised structures in the area had encouraged other residents also to add shops in their houses. Today there are about 200 unauthorised shops in the area.

Officials in the UT Estate Office are naturally tightlipped about the issue and the subject is taboo.

Callousness on part of the Chandigarh Administration in checking encroachments in the Dadu Majra Colony here has lead to a chaotic situation in the area. A large number of the residents in the area have encroached upon public land and have built shops. A survey by Chandigarh Tribune team revealed that many of the residential accommodations had been extended and government land encroached upon to build shops. Interestingly, all these unauthorised shops have separate individual electricity meters. The meters have been fitted in the shops by the owners and in some cases the tenants have also put up their own meters.

Many of the shop owners, especially the ones with corner shops, in the main market here have encroached upon the adjoining land. A large number of shops have also come up in the residential area. Mr Devi Lal Aggarwal, president of the Market Welfare Association, said he had complained to the authorities
concerned for the removal of shops from the residential areas but to no avail.

A significant part of the road passing through the main market has also been encroached upon leading to traffic chaos and increased number of accidents. The situation becomes worse in the evenings when a large number of vendors also set up their vends in the area.

SAS Nagar, June 27
Demanding the arrest of the Youth Akali Dal leader, who allegedly patronised members of the families of the suspects involved in the murder of two children of Siau village, members of various political parties led by the villagers today blocked the Chandigarh-Fatehgarh Highway for more than three hours.

The protesters also blocked the way to the Sohana police station. As tempers ran high, womenfolk among the protesters entered the premises of the Sohana police station. A strong posse of policemen were present there to prevent any eventuality.

Sensing the mood of the villagers, leaders of the political parties left no stone unturned to give a political colour to the episode. The traffic blockade was lifted after a joint action committee of the political parties decided to gather at the Amb Sahib gurdwara in Phase 8 tomorrow to chalk out its future course of action. Unconfirmed reports said the villagers could gherao the Punjab Chief Minister during his visit to the local Fortis Heart Hospital tomorrow.

A meeting of the representatives of the Congress, AISAD, BSP, CPI and CPM with the SSP, Ropar, also ended without any consensus. Mr Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, a senior Congress leader, said : “When the name of the Akali leader, K.B.S. Kang, had been mentioned in the FIR, inability of the police to take action against him was raising many questions”.

Mr Rajbir Singh Patiala and Mr Hardeep Singh from the AISAD, Mr Balwant Singh from the CPM, Mr Joginder Singh from the CPI, Mr Man Singh Manhera from BSP, Mr
Mr Kuljeet Singh Bedi from the Congress were also present on the occasion.

After the bhog of the two children, Vikram Preet (9) and Rampreet (5), tempers ran high with speakers lashing out the government for doing nothing to check atrocities against the Dalits in Punjab. The speakers demanded that murderers should be given such a punishment so that it becomes a lesson for others. They said the head of the family, Mian Singh, behind the entire episode leading to intercaste clash, enjoyed patronage of Akali leaders. They claimed several instances when Mian Singh committed atrocities on villagers.

The villagers demanded that the family of the suspects should be socially boycotted. The Ex-servicemen Cell of the Rashtriya Raksha Dal demanded that the police should come to the rescue of the families of the soldiers.

Sources in the police, said after the arrest of Nirmal Singh, a driver with the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking, and Gurnam Singh, the police had reconstructed the events leading to the murder of the kids. The police was on the lookout for two other suspects, Swaran Singh, reported to be the main accused, and Mewa Singh. The sources said an 18-year-old boy of Gurnam, Sethi and Swaran Singh were involved in the murder. The two kids were taken to fields by Sethi and done to death by an inebriated Swaran Singh. The police officials did not confirm it.

Chandigarh, June 27
The UT Education Department is conducting health and paramedical courses under the vocational stream. These courses form an important category of vocational courses under the scheme of vocationalistation of education launched in 1987-88 students of classes XI and XII are eligible.

Five paramedical courses include medical laboratory technology, ophthalmic techniques, auxillary nursing and midwifery, X-ray technology and healthcare and beauty culture being run in various government senior secondary schools in UT.

The syllabus for the above-mentioned courses has been prepared by the Central Board of Secondary Education for ANN course. The syllabus developed by the Ministry of Health is followed. The examination and certification of these courses is done by the Central Board of Secondary Education.

These courses are run in collaboration with General Hospital, Sector 16, GMCH 32, Directorate Health, Chandigarh. Practical training for these courses is given in the institutions where the course is being run as well as in the hospitals. The pass-outs of these courses can improve their professional competence by joining the degree courses in the same field.

Ophthalmic techniques course is one of the major course under the para medical vocational courses category.

An ophthalmic technician tests vision and prescribes glasses. Ophthalmic technicians assist medical officers at PHCs in providing primary eyecare, including treatment for trachoma, conjunctivitis and associated infections. They also assist mobile units in conducting eyecare camps and survey the community for early detection of eye defects. They also organise community eyecare education activities and train staff at peripheral level.

The UT Education Department offers ophthalmic technology vocational course at class XII level under vocational stream. The course is offered in Government Model Senior Senior Secondary School, Sector 10. Ten seats are available for the course in the above-mentioned school.

The course for classes XI and XII is designed in a manner that 50 per cent time is devoted to practical training and 50 per cent to theory. The course has in total five papers which include language I, language II, biology, optics and ophthalmic techniques. Basic theory and practical training is given in the school. Some of the faculty is drawn from teaching staff of the hospitals. The students are sent on job training of eight weeks to the hospitals. Course can be joined by girls and boys who have passed Class X from any recognised board of education.

All the vocational subjects including ophthalmic technology, medical laboratory technician and X-ray technician are covered under the Apprenticeship Act, 1987. The students are eligible for one-year apprenticeship in the field of ophthalmic technology on a stipend of Rs 900 per month..

Medical laboratory technician’s course is another para medical course. The medical laboratory technicians investigate body tissues and
to diagnose any kind of disease. The medical laboratory technicians can work in clinical chemistry, blood transfusion, haematology, histopathology and medical microbiology.

The course is being offered under vocational stream in Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 32. About 30 seats, 15 each for girls and boys, available in the school. The course is designed in a manner that 50 per cent time is devoted to theory and 50 per cent to practical training.

The course for class XI students has three elective subjects, laboratory medicine, clinical biochemistry and microbiology. For class XII students, the three subjects are anatomy and physiology, laboratory medicine and clinical biochemistry.

Theory as well as practical training in medical laboratory technology vocational course will be imparted by the experts and staff of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. Training will be provided in school and hospital laboratories.

The students are given job training of two weeks in clinical laboratories, hospitals and dispensaries in Chandigarh. After completing the course, they are eligible to join B.Sc in medical laboratory technology at the PGI in Chandigarh and in Pondicherry. The field of employment of students is open in wage employment as well as self-employment.

Chandigarh, June 27
The Administrative Block of Panjab University was today witness to a physical scuffle involving a senior fellow and an employee of the non-teaching branch.

The Senator was Mr Gopal Krishan Chatrath, who had a feud with Mr Raj Kumar. According to an eyewitness, there was an altercation between the two parties over the recent suspension of Mr M.G.Sharma, FDO.

The employees alleged that they were being blamed for the removal of the FDO because they did not support him while the FDO had always helped them.

Mr Chatrath, when contacted, said it was alleged that he had supported the ‘wrong’ in certain instances. “I told him to quote a single instance to prove the same and he had no answer.” Mr Raj Kumar said that he was attacked without any provocation.

Chandigarh, June 27
Four members of a family sustained burn injuries, when the head of the family attempted immolation at their residence in Sector 35 this afternoon. His wife and two children also sustained injuries when they tried to save him.

According to the police, Mohan Lal was allegedly in an inebriated condition when he sprinkled kerosene over himself and set himself on fire.

His wife, Geeta, and two children, a three-year-old daughter and a month old baby, were also injuried when Geeta tried to control the flames.

While Mohan Lal sustained 100 per cent burns, his wife and daughter escaped with minor burn injuries. They were admitted to the PGI, where Mohan Lal is stated to be in a serious condition.

Mohan Lal is staying in the annexe of House Number 461, Sector 35, where he is employed as a domestic help-cum-gardner.

The owner of the house Wg Cdr P. Singh, is away to the USA.

The police says the couple had strained relations for the past couple of months and there was discord ever since the second child was born to them.

Kharar, June 27
Representatives of owners of various industries and godowns and village panch and nambardar of Pabhat village met Mr Rajesh Chabra, Principal Secretary, Local Self Government, Punjab, today and pleaded that the village should not be included in Zirakpur municipal limits.

Mr Vinod Bhushan Jain, a member of the Punjab Pharmacy Council, and leading wholesale dealer of Kharar, while giving this information said he along with others had been called by Mr Chabra to give a personal hearing in connection with the various objections filed by them regarding the proposal of the state government to merge Pabhat village in municipal limits of Zirakpur.

Members of the deputation told Mr Chabra that a large number of residents of the village would be deprived of employment opportunities and rental income if the village was merged with Zirakpur. They said the state government would loose about Rs 160 crore annually as sales tax revenue from this village alone and the customers would also be forced to pay double octroi tax.

The representatives also suggested that the state government should make the village an octroi free zone if it was made a part of the Zirakpur Municipal Council.

Thet pleaded that the state government should in fact develop this area for transporters and company godowns as had been done by the Maharashtra and Rajasthan governments in developing the Bhiwandi area.

Mr Jain said Mr Chabra had assured them that the points raised by the deputation would be looked before taking any decision.

SAS Nagar, June 27
“The planning of Chandigarh and its peripheral town, SAS Nagar, towards the southern side would ensure social, economic and cultural growth of the entire region,” well known architect B.V. Doshi said in an interview with the TNS here today. He, however, did not comment on Anandgarh City. Mr Doshi who was in the town to hold discussions with the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) regarding the city centre in Sector 62 here, said he could visualise that hierarchal development in the entire Punjab, originating from Chandigarh and SAS Nagar.

When the town touched the Ambala road, it would have connectivity with the rural, urban and metropolitan centres in the region. He said there was no city in the country like Chandigarh which was adjacent to hills , had wide roads and other infrastructure. It had a potential of being developed as a global city.

With this in mind, he said the regional city centre in Sector 62 of SAS Nagar should cater to aspects far beyond the commerce related activity. He envisaged the city centre as a place with an international level convention complex, sports and health facilities , bio-technology facilities. Mr Doshi said the resourcefulness and strength of Punjab could be showcased in the planning of the city centre.

It could also be developed as an important circuit for tourist visiting the nearby hill stations. He said conservation of energy in terms of transportation , housing and land was necessary. He opined that the development of the region should be a sustainable process.

Chandigarh, June 27
Various organisations and institutions like schools and colleges will be given various species of trees and shrubs, which will be distributed free of cost by the Forest Department.

This was decided at a meeting of the Greening Task Force here last evening to review the progress of tree plantations to be undertaken by various departments and organisations during this year’s monsoon.

All government departments and organisations were asked to remove lantana and parthenium from the land managed by them. It was decided to help educational institutions, medical institutions, resident welfare associations and other organisations to follow proper scientific methods of planting, care and maintenance of plants.

The Adviser to the Administrator asked the Engineering Department, UT, and the Municipal Corporation to remove tiles in a space of 4’ x 4’ around the tree stems for proper root aeration and percolation of rain water to the root zone of the trees.

The stress would be on ensuring maximum survival rate of saplings.

The members of the group would visit these institutions to stress the need for proper digging of pits, planting and refilling of pits. Care would be taken to ensure proper plant protection measures to keep white ants at bay.

The plants will be available at the government nurseries of the Forest Department, which will be distributed free of cost from Nursery at Forest Rest House in front of Chandigarh Railway Station; Hallo Majra Nursery on Ambala-Chandigarh National Highway; Kishangarh Nursery at Kishangarh village; Nursery near Lake Club and Nursery in
Patiala-ki-Rao Forest (behind Panjab University).

Chandigarh, June 27
The Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr R.K. Gupta, today inaugurated a week-long camp organised by the Tribune Employees Union for filing income tax returns.

A press note issued by Mr L.S. Chaturvedi, general secretary of the union, said as many as 250 employees filed their returns on the opening day of the camp today.

Addressing the participants, Mr R.N. Gupta, General Manager of the Tribune Group of newspapers, appreciated the efforts of the union in holding the camp every year for the benefit of the employees. Mr O.P. Arora, Additional General Manager, The Tribune, also visited the camp.

Welcoming officers of the Income Tax Department, Mr Balbir Singh Jandu, president of the union, revealed that this was the tenth such camp in the series organised by the union since 1992. He also said the union had also been organising blood donation and medical check-up camps. He appreciated the efforts of the Income Tax Department for helping the union in conducting the camp.

Chandigarh, June 27
The Nationalist Mahila Congress Party (NMCP) has decided to create awareness about the female foeticide.

According to a press note issued here today, the male-female ratio, according to the 2001 Census, was 1000:773, which was a cause of concern for everybody and the Administration should take steps to rectify the anomaly.

One of the reasons for this trend was high incidence of female foeticide in the city. Various testing laboratories had been illegally conducting the sex-determination tests.

The party will launch a 15-day “jan jagran” programme against female foeticide and make people aware of the significant role that women played in today’s world.

Chandigarh, June 27
A block of 8 toilets, 4 each for women and men, 4 bathrooms, 2 each for women and men, besides 21 home toilets, complete with water supply storage tanks for 24-hour water supply, have been donated to the Sarangpur village by the Rotary Club Chandigarh Midtown.

Mr G.K. Marwah, Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board and secretary, Social Welfare, Chandigarh, dedicated the toilets to the people of Sarangpur, today.

The president of the club, Dr Vanita Gupta, said, “This is one of the 92 service projects that the club has given to UT Chandigarh, in this year, at a total cost of more than Rs 9.6 lakh. Earlier, a facility for safe, filtered and cooled drinking water has been installed in the Government High School, Sarangpur, on May 28 and 100 trees with tree guards, at a cost of Rs 2,00,000 were planted in the schools and streets of the village.”

The CHB Chairman, while unveiling the dedication stone, said, “Our villages lack such civic facilities and the Rotary Club has done a great service to the people of Sarangpur. Such facilities will greatly improve sanitation in the village and will also reduce medical complications of the women who, earlier, had to wait for darkness to get the fields to relieve themselves, and it was the waiting that caused various medical problems.”

Sarpanch of the village Bhupinder Kaur and a beneficiary of the home toilets, thanked the club for easing their difficulties.

Chandigarh, June 27
Mr Charanjiv Singh, a candidate for the post of the president of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, elections to which are scheduled for July 1, today released his election manifesto.

Releasing the manifesto, Mr Charanjiv Singh said if elected, he would form a team of five traders, which would reach any market at short notice to redress grievances on the spot. A committee would be formed to check sales in hotels and bhavans, which caused loss to the traders and the state exchequer.

Vowing to keep the mandal a non-political body, he alleged that the president of the Chandigarh Vikas Manch and Congress leader, Mr Harmohan Dhawan, was interfering in the elections. He had forced two of their supporters — Mr B.K. Sood and Mr M.P. Kohli — to change loyalties to the other group.

The Chandigarh Administration would be pursued to nominate a member of the mandal to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, he said. He added that efforts would be made for the notification of the deemed assessment scheme.

On the building byelaws, he said there should be no charges for the utilisation of any amendments in the building byelaws unless some extra space was provided to the occupant. The Administration should not interfere in the internal planning of the commercial buildings.

The mandal would continue to support the all-India beopar on national issues, besides maintaining cordial relations with the Administration. The Rent Act would be blocked so that no commercial tenant was evicted till a balanced Act was enforced. Regular meetings would be held and minutes circulated among members.

Mr Charanjiv Singh, a founder-member of the mandal, said four separate zones would be demarcated with in charges for better functioning of the mandal. The administration would be pursued to have a uniform policy for increase of rents of the government-owned buildings.

The constitution would be periodically reviewed, he said. He added that traders’ unity would be strengthened by giving due representation to every market of the city.

Too often, touch is not regarded as a vital sense when compared to other senses. But when seen closely, touch is very important as it is linked to our primeval desire to be in contact with the earth. No mother can forget her first contact with her newborn baby.

The tactile sensation in our homes affects our feelings of comfort and security. A rough plant that brushes our ankles as we return home will colour our evening; sometimes a cold feeling under our foot as we step out badly affects the start of our day.

The materials with which you surround yourselves in your homes make a considerable impact on you.

If you clothe yourselves and cover your furniture with fabrics which are soft and luxurious, it will definitely affect the way you feel. The Yin and Yang balance in our homes is revealed in the sense of touch. Yang rooms like the kitchen are full of Yang metal objects. So you should only stay here on a working basis. In Yin rooms like the bedroom you should put on warm and comfortable clothes and snuggle into soft beds.

Chandigarh, June 27
At a joint meeting of Haryana and Chandigarh units of the Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha was held in Sector 21 here yesterday, Mr Faqir Chand Bhanot, general secretary of the mahasabha, said all Kshatriyas irrespective of their party affiliations should get united and support candidates of their choice both at the central and state- level elections.

Presiding over the meeting, Mr Bhanot maintained that the mahasabha was not a political body. During the meeting it was felt that the Kshatriya community had failed to play an active role during the earlier elections.

The next executive meeting of the sabha will be held on July 1 here to chalk out a future strategy. This was stated by Mr D. P. Sisodia, senior vice-president of the Haryana branch.

Chandigarh, June 27
With an amendment to the Provident Fund rules, employers are now liable to deduct contributions in respect of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Pension Scheme up to a limit of Rs 6,500 instead of Rs 5,000.

In a statement issued here today, Mr K.L. Goyal, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (RPFC) said the new rules were applicable from June 1, 2001.

Kharar, June 27
Ms Rupinder Kaur, a married woman of Mundi Kharar village who was missing from her house since June 14, was traced by the local police in Baroda. The police party had returned here today.

The local police had booked husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and mother-in-law of Rupinder Kaur on the charge of cruelty and harassment for dowry and also suspected a foul play in her absence from the house.

Mr Lajpat Rai of Nilokheri, fahter of the women, had lodged a complaint with the police about this on June 19.

According to information Rupinder Kaur’s statement was recorded before the Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, under Section 164 here today.

Chandigarh, June 27
A sum of Rs 1 lakh was snatched from a man in Sector 22 here yesterday. According to an FIR registered under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC, Suraj, a resident of Kala Amb, reported that two men on a motor cycle snatched his purse containing the money while he was going on a rickshaw from Sector 34 to the ISBT, Sector 17.

In another incident, a car stereo was stolen from a car parked outside the Sector 4 residence of Mr Satnam Singh. The police has registered case under section 379 of the IPC.

Girl abducted: Two youths namely Rabin and Pankaj are accused to have abducted a 14-year-old girl from Kajheri on Tuesday, while she was going to the market. A case under Section 363 and 366 of the IPC has been registered.

Dowry case: Manjinder Kaur has accused her husband, Karamveer Singh, of harassment and maltreatment for dowry. The police has registered a case under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC.